Author: thenevsbycycle

Well what a fun day that was with all the family.  Awesome 52km ride from Spooners Tunnel to Mapua meeting the non riders along the way.

Early start to get the bikes loaded out to the Spooners Tunnel.

Thanks Michael and Kiwi Journeys for a great trip out to the tunnel with the informative commentary.

Here goes start of the tunnel. Lights fully charged ready for the 1.3km

Blazed it downhill to Wai-iti domain

First stop Wakefield bakery where Mum and Dad the support crew were making sure there were enough pies for us.

On through the hops to the Grape Escape for lunch.

Well that was a super fun day. Well done team……!

Enjoying our staycation on our 3 days off and this morning we got a shuttle from Nelson out to the Spooners tunnel. The longest disused rail tunnel in the southern hemisphere.

Despite having ridden it 4 times the claustrophobia kicked in and that didn’t help with the light on my bike not working! Thought I was going to come unstuck during the 1.35km but happy to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Out the other side and wow what a huge improvement in the surface  of the trail since last time we did the ride.  Smashed the other side of the tunnel, blazed through the hop farms which are expanding by the day, onwards through Wakefield then time for a rest in Brightwater.

The strong northerly made for a tough day of riding but the Maccas ice cream reward was well worth it.

A few mechanical issues with Betty but all sorted after realising the derailleur was missing a bolt!!!! Handy Andy had a spare so all fixed.

Awesome day out and fantastic ride on our door step.

First we had to tick off being tourists in Cromwell. So pretty and the historical part of the town is amazing.

Then yesterday it was time to hit the Central Otago trails.

Amazing day of riding finished off with the River Trail from Alex back to Clyde.

Clyde – Alexandra – Roxburgh Gorge Trail – Alexandra – Clyde = 47km.

Put it on the To Do list. We will be back for more exploring.

Doing our bit to support the local economy and being tourists yet again in our own backyard.

This was the first time we had both been down this way since the early 1980s so was like a new discovery and can now see why tourists come in droves to visit this beautiful part of NZ.

Embracing winter in paradise.

This would have been week 3 riding out bikes through Asia but during these crazy times it wasn’t to be.

Instead we have hit the road exploring our back yard and having a blast. Even have the folks joining us so some good quality time. Some new territory for us visiting spots we haven’t visited before, loving exploring our backyard.